Brazil not done with politics yet

Nine years in, CB East – Bell Island incumbent says there’s still work he wants to complete

By Chris Lewis | Vol. 32 No. 8 (May 8 2019)

David Brazil, the incumbent PC member Conception Bay East – Bell Island district, is hoping to keep hold of that role next week.

Brazil has been a familiar face in the House of Assembly for the last nine-years, but his political history actually spans nearly four decades, going back to his days as a teenager when he sat as head of the PC Youth and later on the provincial executive as chairman of district associations both provincially and federally.

Prior to being elected as an MHA, Brazil worked as a civil servant for 26 years, in a number of departments ranging from health, education, and municipal affairs, to tourism. It’s the kind of broad experience that he feels helps him represent the needs and concerns of residents in his district.
There has been plenty of progress made during the nine years he has served as the MHA, but the work isn’t finished, he said.

“In my tenure, there’s been four schools built, and that’s major,” said Brazil. “Hundreds of millions of dollars. But there are two key things I want to see completed. We’ve got the junior high that’s about to start in Paradise. I also want to complete a high school in Paradise. And, with the junior high we got last year in St. Phillip’s, I want a high school to go along with it. Then, each one of these large, growing communities have all-inclusive education when it comes to Kindergarten all the way to the end of high school.”

Brazil said he also wants to secure more services for first-responders.

There’s already been a lot of success in that regard, he said, highlighting in particular the $3-million fire hall erected on Bell Island, as well as two new trucks for the brigade that came to around $600,000.

“One of the other big things is infrastructure, water and sewer, and road improvements,” said Brazil. “This is a fairly large district, so there’s a lot of work that’s been done in that regard, but still a lot to be done. But, we’re getting there.”

Brazil has also been pushing for government to lift the 1.6 km restriction on school bus services for students. He held and attended multiple meetings on the issue. The PC Bluebook this time contains a commitment to lift the restriction so that all children can board school buses, no matter how closely they live to their schools.

“We all are on the same wavelength,” Brazil said of the people and groups he’s lobbied on the issue. “This is about safety, and quality of education. If you’ve got a kid who walks three quarters of a kilometre, or one-and-a-half kilometres, in a snow storm or torrential rain, you can’t tell me that, during the first two hours of school when those kids are soaking wet, that they’re really learning at the level that they should be.”

Brazil added there are many places within the district where there are no sidewalks, a major safety concern to children affected by the 1.6-kilometre busing policy. “This is not just relevant to the Northeast Avalon. You go out to Twilingate, or Roddickton, and it’s there too,” he said.

Brazil is also hoping to see more healthcare facilities in his district. By introducing more facilities locally, the congestion would be taken off the main tertiary care centres in St. John’s, he argued.

Despite happily serving the region as MHA for nine years now, Brazil admitted the decision to put his name back on the ballot was a difficult decision to make.

“We’ve come a long way, but there’s still lots to do,” he said. “Education, infrastructure, and the ferry service especially. We’re this close to having what would be a very inclusive and beneficial service that gives people proper transportation, all while being efficient from a financial point of view for the taxpayers. So, I want to make sure I complete what I started. When I leave politics, I want to be able to say that I left my district in a better place than it was when I took it over.”

ernment to lift the 1.6 km restriction on school bus services for students. He held and attended multiple meetings on the issue. The PC Bluebook this time contains a commitment to lift the restriction so that all children can board school buses, no matter how closely they live to their schools.
“We all are on the same wavelength,” Brazil said of the people and groups he’s lobbied on the issue. “This is about safety, and quality of education. If you’ve got a kid who walks three quarters of a kilometre, or one-and-a-half kilometres, in a snow storm or torrential rain, you can’t tell me that, during the first two hours of school when those kids are soaking wet, that they’re really learning at the level that they should be.”
Brazil added there are many places within the district where there are no sidewalks, a major safety concern to children affected by the 1.6-kilometre busing policy. “This is not just relevant to the Northeast Avalon. You go out to Twilingate, or Roddickton, and it’s there too,” he said.
Brazil is also hoping to see more healthcare facilities in his district. By introducing more facilities locally, the congestion would be taken off the main tertiary care centres in St. John’s, he argued.
Despite happily serving the region as MHA for nine years now, Brazil admitted the decision to put his name back on the ballot was a difficult decision to make.
“We’ve come a long way, but there’s still lots to do,” he said. “Education, infrastructure, and the ferry service especially. We’re this close to having what would be a very inclusive and beneficial service that gives people proper transportation, all while being efficient from a financial point of view for the taxpayers. So, I want to make sure I complete what I started. When I leave politics, I want to be able to say that I left my district in a better place than it was when I took it over.”